LOS ANGELES, California — Mayor Karen Bass tried to strike an upbeat tone as she delivered the bad news Monday in her “State of the City” speech, cutting 400 civilian jobs in the L.A. Police Department next year.
The Los Angeles Times reported:
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a proposed budget on Monday that would eliminate a nearly $1 billion financial gap by cutting more than 2,700 city positions — about 1,650 of them through layoffs.
…
The $14 billion spending plan, which covers the 2025-26 fiscal year, would provide funding for scores of new hires at the fire department, three months after the Palisades fire destroyed thousands of homes and killed 12 people.
…
At the Los Angeles Police Department, more than 400 workers would be targeted for layoffs, all of them civilians, according to figures prepared by city budget officials. The number of police officers would continue on its gradual downward trajectory, with new hires failing to keep pace with attrition.
Bass also claimed that the process of recovery and building after the Palisades Fire was the fastest in the history of the state.